Last night’s freezing rain changed to snow late; by the earliest hours of the new day, it had delivered a dusting and then transformed into fog, low and heavy over the land. Now, in late morning, the fog still wraps around the peaks, but the lower slopes are at last showing themselves, their blanket of snow-dusted conifers here and there catching a hesitant sunlight.
The latest much-ballyhooed winter weather, at one time predicting five inches of accumulation, has turned out to be very little, neither sound nor fury. Its aftermath, however, will be the customary post-storm bitter cold, the mercury expected to plunge below zero for the ensuing nights.
The one good thing to come out of it is that the cold means the snow will stick around for a day or two, even in the face of the unclouded sun forecast for tomorrow.
This is a season of the Earth’s own ornamentation, of evergreen trees garlanded by snow and light.
Today’s featured works, both completed only in the last week or so, are manifest as these hallmarks of the winter holidays in an alpine land. Both are from the same signature series, one of Wings’s longest-running — some thirty years or more — and both embody the spangled spirits of this cold season, those that stand sentry over this land year-round, but take on a particularly ethereal beauty in winter. Both are found in the Pins Gallery here on the site. We begin with the first of the two to be created, a little local evergreen ornamented with the shades of the season, resin, berry, bough seemingly caught and then lit by the sun. From its description:
Resin, Berry, Bough Tree Pin
The most beautiful holiday tree is an evergreen covered with snow and spangled with light, the sun intensifying the shades of resin, berry, bough. With this newest entry in his longstanding signature series of tree pins, Wings evokes the natural beauty of juniper and fir, spruce and pine, and adds his own special tribute to the power of snow and light. The tree is saw-cut freehand in a whimsical shape that implies motion in a wintry wind, each point and edge filed smooth. Freehand stampwork in the shape of five-pointed stars serve as ornaments, radiant sunrise motifs inverted form garlands, and at the top, an old-style six-pointed star draws the eye to its peak. More “ornaments,” like tiny lights, are arrayed in small round saw-toothed bezels down its length: amber resin, carnelian berry, jade bough, all glowing in the alpine winter light. Tree stands 1-5/8″ high by 1-3/8″ across at the widest point; cabochons are 3/16″ across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; amber; carnelian; jade
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
This one makes me think of the juniper, what my own people call the red cedar: rich green boughs, resin turned golden in the light, and while the berries most often look violet, catch them at the right time and in the right light, and you’ll see hints of red ringing them.
We are fortunate to have a twinned pair of juniper trees here on our land, not far from the front door. They are small yet, relatively young, but already they are among the most beautiful of our winter spirits.At this moment, their feathery tips are dancing slowly in a still-gentle wind, backed by a snowy gray sky. Their boughs are tipped with white, a small dusting occasionally scattered by the departure of one of the tiny birds now inhabiting the magpie nests at their center, making good use of available shelter for the winter. Tomorrow, they will be as silver as the tiny tree above, snow turned to ice and lit with cold fire by the rays of a rising sun.
The second such pin was created a few days later, one that summons an image of an alpine winter’s dusk, an evergreen twilight spangled with snow and fire and the starlight dark of impending night. From its description:
Evergreen Twilight Tree Pin
A winter’s dawn and dusk are moments of an evergreen twilight here, when black night skies marbled with red fire and white starlight cast their colors upon the trees that blanket the peaks. With this miniature holiday tree pin and just a touch of whimsy, Wings honors the shades of the sky and the stands of giant conifers that are elemental parts of the cold season. The latest in Wings’s long-running signature series of winter trees with ornamented boughs, the pin itself is saw-cut freehand, branches seeming to dance in air and light. A classic five-pointed star adorns the top, more of its kind scattered throughout the boughs,, with flowing-water motifs forming natural garlands alongside eight-spoked snowflakes. Three cabochons are arrayed down its surface: black onyx, the color of night; fiery garnet, of rising and setting suns; and icy white moonstone, channeling the light of first sun, of rising moon, and of all the stars in the sky. Pin stands 1-5/8″ high by 1-3/8″ across at the widest point; cabochons are 3/16″ across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; onyx; garnet; moonstone
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
This one is all snowflakes and stars, with the gentle animating spirit of a winter’s snow at night. We are unlikely to have much of such a phenomenon this winter, but as I say so frequently, hope is a stubborn thing.
And perhaps this tiny work in its honor will call it to us, welcome it home once more.
This is, for the spiritual and cultural tradition now dominant on this land mass, supposed to be the holiest night of the year: one of stillness and silence, of guiding stars showing the way through deep cold and dark. The trees were mostly an afterthought to the holiday’s putative origins, a way to induce reluctant non-members to take part.
And it has worked.
Even we are enamored of a beautiful tree; one stands in its usual corner of the living room, beneath the staircase by the nicho, right this moment. For us, it’s partly a reminder of childhood Christmases when everything was innocent; partly a manifestation of seasonal beauty, one that allows our spirits a little rest at the end of a long, hard year.
After all, we cannot bring those that edge our world indoors. They belong in the earth, growing tall and strong, catching such crystals as deign to fall, garlanded by snow and light.
In a season of sacred stars and holy nights, it’s good for the spirit to bring a little of it in close, tangible, a faint feel and scent and sight of the beauty and blessings of other worlds.
The whole world could use such beauty now.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
